Friday mailbag!

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Q: Here's my question. What would happen if interviewers stop pretending that they understand Trump when he goes into word salad mode. Instead of listening respectfully, I would like to see someone say, ‘I'm sorry, that doesn't make sense. What are you talking about?’

A: I DO think we have seen some people do that. Maybe not “What are you talking about” but definitely fact-checking him in real time. Jonathan Swan, who was with Axios at the time, did it most famously.

But, I do think plenty of reporters — CNN’s Kaitlan Collins comes to mind — do everything they can to fact check Trump and hold him to account even while interviewing him.

While I get the intent of your question — can’t someone just call him on his BS!!! — it’s actually way harder to do that than you might think.

Because, let’s say I am interviewing Trump. And he says something totally nonsensical. And I respond: “I’m sorry Mr. Trump that makes no sense.” Do you really think he would be cowed? He would not be!

He would say something like: “And that is why you are the very fake news and people don’t trust you anymore. Very bad. Very fake. Very sad.”

And his people would eat it up. And Democrats would hate it and say he ignored the reporter. And people in the middle wouldn’t even be aware that Trump was being interviewed by me.

So…..

Q: This may be a little outside your normal political expertise and more into psychology but here goes. There is a major disconnect between reality and Trump supporters. Facts aren't facts. Trump's lies are truths. The world is upside down. How can this happen? Also, the Time interview is absolutely frightening but his supporters want his dictatorial ideas to come to fruition. Again, why? Any insight into what's happening and why?

A: Well, I fashion myself an amateur psychologist so this is right in my wheelhouse 😂

I think the answer to your question is that Trump’s people have been conditioned over the years — by him, by Fox News, by Rush Limbaugh etc. — to distrust ANYTHING that the so-called “elites” say.

So if the media or the political establishment say that the sky is blue, the Trump base will insist it’s not. It’s almost Pavlovian.

There is also this weird sense that they get the joke that we don’t. Like, they know what’s really going on — an elitist cabal designed to keep Trump from the presidency — and we are too dumb to see it.

As for Trump’s ideas — and their popularity — I think there are a whole lot of people in this country who believe they are getting a raw deal. They are getting screwed (again, by the elites). And anyone or anything that rights that wrong is to be supported.

In Trump’s interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday, he said this about the 2024 election (the bolding is mine):

“If everything’s honest, I'll gladly accept the results. I don't change on that. If it's not, you have to fight for the right of the country.”

Which sounds a whole lot like what he told the protestors on January 6: “We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.”

The idea being that ALL things are justified — including violence — when the stakes are this high. Remember, Trump regularly refers to this election as the “final battle.”

Q: What is the likely scenario if Trump loses the election but refuses to accept the results, as he is hinting that he will deny anything but a Trump win?